Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.103.252.61
- Thomas Hixson
- 3:21-cv-04754
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Hixson granted a request to subpoena Comcast for John Doe’s identity before the required conference.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 76.103.252.61, Comcast Cable, and any other internet-service provider identified through the authorized subpoenas.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 76.103.252.61, whose identity was not yet known. Strike 3 asked to obtain information from Comcast Cable before the parties held their required discovery-planning conference.
The court found good cause and allowed Strike 3 to serve Comcast with a subpoena seeking John Doe’s true name and address. The order also allowed subpoenas to other internet providers identified through that process, subject to notice and an opportunity to challenge the subpoenas.
Judge Thomas S. Hixson ordered Comcast to notify the subscriber, allowed 30 days to contest a subpoena, required preservation of the information, and directed that identifying information be filed under seal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.103.252.61 · No. 3:21-cv-04754
- Thomas Hixson
- June 30, 2021
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued a defendant identified in the caption as John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 76.103.252.61. Strike 3 filed an application for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference, which is the required conference at the start of a federal civil case to discuss how discovery will proceed. The requested subpoena was directed to Comcast Cable, identified in the order as the internet service provider.
Court’s ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to serve the subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference. The court granted the application and authorized Strike 3 to serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking the true name and address of the defendant associated with the IP address identified in the complaint. Strike 3 had to attach a copy of the order to the subpoena.
The order also allowed Strike 3 to serve a similar subpoena on another internet-service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to one of the defendants. If Comcast qualified as a cable operator under the cited federal statute, Comcast had to notify the subscriber by sending a copy of the order.
Notice and limits
Strike 3 could use information obtained through the subpoena only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint. Comcast had to serve the subscriber with a copy of the subpoena and the order within 30 days after receiving the subpoena. The subscriber and Comcast each had 30 days after service to file a motion challenging the subpoena, including a motion to cancel or change it. If no timely challenge was filed, Comcast would have 10 days to produce the responsive information. Comcast also had to preserve the subpoenaed information until producing it or until any timely challenge was finally resolved.
The order required the name and other identifying information of any current or proposed defendant to be filed under seal. Judge Thomas S. Hixson issued the order on June 30, 2021. The order concerned early discovery and did not decide the merits of Strike 3’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.